


Curiosity

by Toshua



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Cascade PD, Gen, Juvi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-04
Packaged: 2017-12-04 07:38:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/708208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toshua/pseuds/Toshua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blair helps a troubled child.  Megan's curiosity annoys Jim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curiosity

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Cascade Library about 1999, or right after Megan showed up. All characters belong to someone else.
> 
> // means conversations heard at a distance//

"Jim, where's Sandburg?" Simon's voice was barely a whisper, penetrating the detective's personal space as the cop studied a file case scattered across the conference room table.

"Umm?" Jim's reply just barely acknowledged the question.

"Blair, where is he?" Simon kept his voice soft, not wanting to startle his officer.

"Data Retrieval." The answer was distracted, almost non-existent.

Simon nodded and closed the door behind him as he turned to the newest member of Major Crimes. "Sandburg is in Data Retrieval. Anything else, Inspector?"

Megan Conner tried to see around Captain Banks massive frame to peer through the glass windows at the detective sitting at the table. "How does he know that? I just saw him in Forensics, not 10 minutes ago."

Simon shrugged. "You'll have to ask him." Simon sighed, staring down at the slightly smaller woman. He had to give her credit, she was smart and very quick on the uptake. In two weeks she'd pegged his friend as having an edge in getting the job done. Now she seemed determined to find out how that 'edge' worked, and she wasn't above enlisting help with seemingly innocent questions. Ellison had confided that Conner believed him to be a 'psychic' and was fascinated with the possibilities, right down to being a 'true believer'.

The reality would be harder to grasp and understand. Jim Ellison's Sentinel abilities were a closely guarded secret. Simon didn't know the full extent of his capabilities and most of the time, he didn't want to know. But he was aware of how the cop always knew where his long-haired young partner was, and to some extent, what his frame of mind or state of health was. He'd seen Sandburg exhibit the same capabilities, but only when something was very wrong.

"Conner, I assume you had a reason to know where Sandburg was?"

She looked at him with guileless eyes, face open and innocent. "I asked him to bring me a file from Data Retrieval on his way back from Forensics."

"If you knew he was in Data Retrieval, why did you ask?" Simon pinched his eyes under his glasses.

"I knew." She pointed at the detective on the other side of the glass. "He didn't. I was just ... curious."

Simon sighed, his shoulders sagging in frustration. "Conner, do you know the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

"Yes sir. I also know that 'satisfaction brought it back.'" Megan smiled at the police captain, letting the satisfaction pour off her. Her grin failed as she noticed Jim's head come up from the file that he was reading and stare off into the distance for a moment. Then he grabbed for the phone, standing up and punching in a number. Conner touched the captain's arm and Simon followed her gaze.

Jim slammed the phone down and took two long strides to the door, yanking it open and breezing by his captain and the Australian officer. Simon barely caught the sweater covered arm.

"Whoa, Jim. What's wrong?"

"There's a kid on the 4th floor with a gun. Sandburg's trying to talk to him." Jim was already walking away, not caring if he was being followed or not as he slammed his way through Major Crimes' door and into the hallway.

Simon followed automatically and Megan was close on his heels. When Jim bypassed the elevator and headed for the stairwell, Simon tried getting his attention again. "Jim, who did you call?"

"Juvi. The kid says that they're holding his brother and he wants to see him. If Sandburg can keep the kid distracted without hurting himself, maybe they can disarm him." Jim's feet rattled down the metal grating, followed quickly by the others. He paused at the outer door and peeped through the thick glass window. The hall was empty and he slipped the door open with a grimace, hoping that the hinges had been oiled lately. He stepped in, holding the door for the others, hand motioning for silence as he cocked his head and listened.

//"Come on kid, a gun never solved anything. You're in a police station. How many guns do you think are trained on you right now?" 

"I don't care. I want Joey. They took him away this morning. He's all the family I have."

"Why did they take him away?"

"They said he robbed a store, but all he was doing was getting us some food. He didn't hurt anybody."

"Where are your parents?"

"Don't know, don't care. Just get Joey for me and we'll leave. You won't ever see us again."

"What's your name?"

"Tony. Why do you care? You're a cop."

"No I'm not. I'm a teacher."//

Jim listened to the ragged voice of a boy on edge and desperate. He tiptoed down the hall, staying close to the wall until he could finally peer around the intersecting hall that led into the Juvenile section. The hall was empty except for a rail thin teenager in over-sized clothes and his partner.

Sandburg's hands were raised in front of him, non-threatening. His eyes were totally focused on the boy in front of him. His vision flickered for just a second to Jim then he was listening to the kid again.

"What's a teacher doing in a police station? Come to press charges against a kid for sleeping in class?"

"It's a long story. Look, Tony, this has been going on for awhile now. Pretty soon some uniformed cop is going to get trigger happy and you aren't going to like what is going to happen. Why don't you put the gun down and we can sit down and talk about your brother?"

Simon peeked around his detective and scanned the room visible from the hallway. The normal staff had neither fled the gun-carrying teenager or was hiding under convenient desks. Except for an older woman behind Sandburg near the copier, the room was empty. She seemed frozen in place, hands trembling on the buttons of the copier.

"I just want my brother, man. Get Joey and we'll be gone."

"Tony, it doesn't work that way. If he robbed a store they probably took him down to be charged, then over to juvenile hall. He's getting a shower, and some food. He won't be hurt."

"He's only 12. I'm supposed to look after him."

"How old are you Tony?" Blair's voice had dropped to its most soothing and he took a step closer.

"15. He was supposed to wait until I got back from the shelter with some food, but he was hungry."

"Where are you living?" Another step. Jim advanced around the corner, as slowly as his partner was moving toward the boy.

"There's an old warehouse on the water that has power. Me and Joey been there about a month with couple others. Bob said that a couple of pigs busted the door down, took Joey away."

"Tony, I promise you, Joey is okay. Why don't you give me the gun and I'll take you to him. We'll get you some food, a warm place to sleep." Another step and Blair reached out, hand slowly wrapping around the barrel of the shaking weapon. He forced the gun down and when the teen's grip weakened, took it from the grubby hand.

Jim moved with a panther's grace and was immediately behind the boy, one hand fastening on an arm, the other reaching for his cuffs. "You okay, Chief?"

"Yeah." Blair handed the handgun to Simon. "The safety was on, Captain. He couldn't hurt anybody." The grad student looked up at Captain Banks, sad eyes huge in his face. "Jim, don't cuff him. You'll scare him." His eyes never left the police captain, silently pleading.

Simon nodded to his detective. Jim shrugged but did not release his grip on the teenager's arm. Then the hall suddenly erupted with people and uniforms, and the noise level exploded. In the middle of it all, Tony's eyes never left Blair, waiting hopefully. The older woman from the copier suddenly appeared. She took the teenager's hand, pulled him away from Ellison's bruising grip.

"Why don't you come over and sit down? I'll find your brother. Would you like something to drink?" She looked at the cops, eyes demanding that everyone get out of her way as she took charge of the boy. She led him to a desk and sat him down in a chair, then glanced at the people standing around. "Don't you people have someplace to be?"

Her strident voice was the catalyst and the hall began to empty out, bodies returning to their offices. Blair came and knelt down next to the teenager, looked into the frightened, hollowed eyed face.

"Helen, will take good care of you, Tony. She thinks she's everyone's grandmother. Don't you, Helen?" Blair grinned at the gray-haired woman. "Just don't let her talk you into eating her cookies. You won't be able to stop." He winked at her. Blair stood up, bussed Helen on the cheek. "Take good care of him and Joey."

Helen laughed at the flirting young man. "Get out of here, Imp, before I forget the age difference."

"Promises, promises." Blair laughed.

Megan watched the by-play with one eye, Jim Ellison with the other. Now that his partner was no longer in danger, Jim had relaxed against the wall and was watching Sandburg with a gentle smile on his face. She cleared her throat and smiled at him.

"So, Jim, do you get visions or what?" She kept her voice very quiet, aware of Simon close by, as well as one of the uniforms.

Jim glanced at her, spearing her with his glacier blue eyes for a moment. "Give it a break, Conner," he said under his breath.

"I just find it fascinating that you accept it so easily, you and Sandy both. Psychics that I've met have all been, well, a little -"

"Weird?" Jim's eyes were daggers now and he mentally yelled for his guide to get this woman away from him.

"Your word, not mine," she hastily explained, hands fluttering. "I was going to say introverted. Maybe even closed to other people. You're just the opposite."

Blair turned toward Jim in time to see the glare aimed at Conner. He groaned to himself. How were he and Jim ever to work with her if she insisted on pushing Jim to explain how his 'psychic' abilities worked? Would it be safer to take her into their confidence? He quickly bounced to his partner, wearing a bright satisfied smile.

"Sorry, Megan, but I got a little distracted. The file you needed is around here somewhere."

"That's okay, Sandy. Talking a kid out of a gun is more important."

Blair rolled his eyes at the new nickname. He glanced at Jim, acknowledging that he'd successfully pulled Conner's interest away from the sentinel.

"You did all right, Chief. How did you know he had it anyway? What brought you in this direction?" Jim pushed away from the wall, came up behind his partner and patted a shoulder, needing to reinforce that his friend and guide was safe. He left his hand there, squeezing gently.

"I was taking the stairs." He glanced at his buff partner, then Conner. "Exercise, you know. He was in the stairwell, testing each door. When this one opened, I just followed him. When he pulled the gun out from under his jacket I knew we had a problem."

"You should have ducked back out and called for backup instead of taking him on by yourself." Simon growled.

Sandburg shrugged. "I admit it crossed my mind. But he didn't strike me as a real threat, just someone that needed help."

"Your empathy for people is going to get you in trouble one day, Chief."

"Yeah, that's why my Blessed Protector is around. Now, if it'd been a woman, I'd definitely called for backup." Blair looked up at Jim with a grin. Jim responded by shaking the shoulder that he was still holding.

"I don't understand. "Blessed Protector?"" Megan looked at the partners. "Are you talking about the Chinese legend?"

Blair nodded. "It's a long story. Jim saved my life right after I became an observer."

"But that was after you saved mine. Remember the garbage truck?"

"Oh, yeah." Blair followed Simon out of the hallway door into the stairwell, followed by Jim and Megan. "That was just a case of being in the right place at the right time." He grinned at the open confusion on Megan's face, then glanced at Jim. "Have we been keeping score?"

"Not me. Simon, have you been keeping score?"

"Not my pool. Go ask Brown. Or Rhonda." Simon paused to light a cigar and take several puffs in the open stairs, before looking at his crew. "On second thought, don't ask. They would have to confess to having a pool on you two and I don't want to remind them that gambling is illegal in Washington."

Jim looked at his captain. "There is a pool? On us?" His eyes were wide and he glared at his partner, then back to Simon. "Chief, I think I'm offended."

Blair shrugged. "It just shows that you're loved." He winked at Megan. "But who calls it? I mean, does it count when Jim pushes me out of way of some wacko with a gun, or when I get the drop on the guy who is sneaking up on Jim's back? Does this mean that we're gonna be followed every time we go out on an investigation?"

Jim pushed Blair up the stairs in front of him. "I don't want to know anymore about it. And don't go getting any bright ideas, Chief."

Blair climbed the stairs, two at a time, calling back. "Who me?." He was laughing as he pulled the door open and held it for the rest of them.

Megan looked at the two men that almost towered over her and then trotted up the stairs. She paused in the landing, looking into Blair's laughing eyes. "How much is this pool worth?"

"I have no idea. But if I know Jim, he'll know by the end of the day, who started it, how much is in it and what the rules are."

"Is he really that gifted?"

"Megan, if I were you, I wouldn't push Jim on his gift. He's managed to keep it a secret for years."

"Why? Is he that paranoid?"

"Let's just say that he's run into a couple of people that wanted to exploit his abilities for shady things. It has a tendency to make him touchy about what he can do."

Megan looked at the detective and captain as they joked over something while Simon put out his cigar. Simon's laughter carried up the stairs easily. Jim looked up at her and for a moment his eyes flashed at her, all signs of good humor gone.

"That's what you do, isn't it? You keep him from being exploited, from being used."

Blair looked at Jim who was climbing the stairs toward him. "I'm his partner, Megan. I do whatever the job requires."

Jim looked at Blair who was still holding the door for all of them. He glanced at Megan then waved her through the open door before following her.

"He's got it right, Megan. He's my partner. And I've never had a better one."

Blair grinned at the big cop. Praise from Jim was rare and he soaked up the compliment.

~The End~


End file.
